Piano action



Feb. 20, 1951 BROWN 2,542,307

PIANO ACTION Original Filed Sept. 30, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. P. BROWN Feb. 20, 1951 PIANO ACTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Sept. 30, 1947 INVEN TOR. Alexa/249m- Erma/20 6/1 Arm/mm Patented Feb. 20, 1951 2,5423%7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Alexander P. Brown, Beechhurst, N.'Y.

Original application September 30, 1947, Serial No. 776,987. Divided and this application June 2, 1949, Serial No.,96,793

.5Slairns. (C1. 84240) l 2 This invention relates to piano actions. st motion compensator; (6) this combination It is well known in the arts of small vertical supported bya flange secured. to the hamme lift pianos that the piano actions are large, deep and rail; '(7) the action frame with holes to regulate much below the level of the manual keys; these the height of wippen guide lever and its rail and are known as underslung actions. It is known acting as an adjustment for different heights of that inmost of these types it is necessary to have piano, still retaining the standard key board certain levers or connections from the keydown height; with this, it will not be necessary to use to the wippen. These connecting levers are different sizes of action frames for different known to have a flexibility or a. give, which causes heights of pianos; (8) the improved combination an unsatisfactory mushy touch. 10 sostenuto lever and dampe lever using only'one Also in the present vertical type piano actions, regular damper lever spring, this improvement the jack usually has a compression spring 10- having application to many type of pianos. cated under the front knuckle portion of the The improved compact action of small compass jack, and the said spring is secured by glue in still retains the time tested full length hammer the front portion of the wippen. This former shanks and the full size component parts. The construction requires a separate jackiiange with straight pull of the abstract avoids the mushy its edge glued into the wippen so as to provide touch and its new lower pivoting located in back space for the compression front jack spring. of the jack trip regulation screw, requires less These flanges are objectionable not only because space. The hammer is driven more directly and they very often loosen and cause difficulties, but comes back faster than that of the old type of the jack flanged sections must be built larger and action. With the set of flanges on the hammer thus take up much valuable space in the pianos. lift rail supporting the activating levers, a varia- Further, the present back stop parts with the ble output of volume of tone is achieved, and a extension shank in the butt take up considerable constant touch depth is obtained, and the lost space. motion is compensated and taken up.

Further, the present actions for upright pianos The invention will be more fully described have a spring for the hammer and one separate hereinafter, embodiments thereof shown in the spring for the damper lever. drawings, and the invention will be finally Further, when the present sostenuto pedal is pointed out in the claims. in use, the certain awkward and annoying resist- In the accompanying drawings,

ance occurs in the touch by the subsequent keys Fig. 1 is a side View with parts in section showbeing played, which is due to the unyielding ing embodiments of the improvements;

sostenuto rail or its cord when the sustenuto rail Fig. 2 is a plan view of the demountable bridle meets edge to edge with the sostenutolever, or tape, with its laminated ends;

to the unyielding sostenuto lever and its railcon- Fig. 3 is a detail side View of the connection of tacting portion. the jack with wippen, substantially like the parts The piano-iortes to which the following invenshown in Fig. l, but somewhat modified in the tion is applicable though they all belong to the construction eliminating the abstract and showsame class may still be of various construction. ing a modification in the rear jack wippen con- The improvements include (1) the provision of 49 nesting spring;

the jack regulation screw in an exposed position Fig. 4 is a side view with parts in section, showpermitting easy access for regulating it, by placing a modified embodiment of the invention dising the abstract, the demountable bridle tape, the closed, in the embodiment of Fig.1;

bridle wire, and the back-check behind the said -Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5-5 regulation screw, in which the pivoting of the of Fig.6;

lower p r of the abstract. m y be er 1 Fig. 6 is a side view like that of'Fig. 3, showing rectly to the jack or directly to the wippen; (2) a common pivot for the abstract, jack and wippen,

the provision of a jack spring acting on the rear though the abstract may be omitted, and a modiportion of the jack and supported by the wippen fled-construction of the rear spring; and or its flange, (3) the radius head on the jack, {)0 Fig. 7 is a view showing the flange at the lower enabling a fuller and solid blow, and step by step part of the rail.

movement with a more rapid trip; l) the back Similar characters of reference indicate corstop unit as part of the hammer butt, instead of responding parts throughout the various views.

separate widely spaced assembled parts of the Referring to the drawings, and more particupresent hammer butt, and a synchronizing back larly to Fig. l, the known key l of a piano has check; (5) the combination abstract guide and a capstan screw 2. A last motioncompensating abstract guide lever 3 has a felt lining 3a, and rests upon the capstan screw 2. The curvature of the lever permits a compensating action. The lever 3 is pivoted at 319 to a flange 4, which is supported by and secured to the hammer rail 5, by screws 5a, which rail 5 has a felt layer 5b thereon. The rail 5 is movable upwardly and towards the string 53 by a lift dowel 1 as known, and returns by gravity. To the rail 5, a pivot rod 8 is pivoted at one of its ends, and the other end of the rod 8 is pivoted to a fixed action frame 9 having spaced ports or openings 90, any one of which may be selected for the proper piano keyboard height regulation of the rail 5. Only a portion of the action frame 3 is shown as it is well known without the spaced openings. All of these parts are so constructed that their location. is at the rear or back of a jack strip regulation screw 28a and button 28.

The jack 24 has a felt inlay or blocking felt 25, to soften the thrust of the jack against the wippen, and has a knuckle portion 21 to impinge against the felt covered regulating button 28 of a screw 23a, supported on a rail 28b. To the jack 24 at its lower rear portion. at 26 is movably inserted one end of a rear jack spring 31, which is preferably bent up to form a convolution, and has its other end secured to the wippen. 32. The wippen 32 is pivotally supported at 34a to a wippen flange 34 secured by screws 34b to an action rail 31. The wippen 32 supports a spoon 33. A spring 35 preferably of the coiled type is disposed between the wippen 32 and a touch spring regulating rail 36 held movably by a screw 33a on the rail 31.

The butt I2 is pivotally connected at 68 to a hammer butt flange 42 secured by screws 42:: to the rail 3?. The lower part of the butt [2 is curved and the upper end of the jack Z4 abuts against it. A full moton butting or radius jack head 23 extends laterally of the upper end of the jack. The upper end of the jack 24 with the lateral extension or radius jack head 23 serve to press the butt upwardly and is released from the butt when the jack knuckle 21 abuts against the trip regulation button 28. A buckskin l2a with a cushioning felt l2b softens the pressure of the jack. A felt lllc limits the movement of the jack, so that the abutting end of the jack with its radius extension fits directly under the curved portion of the butt. The curved surface of the butt and the pivot 68 form substantially a horizontal line. The jack 24 moves substantially in a vertical direction, and thus swings the butt I 2 on its pivot 58 to the extent of its thrust. When the jack tripped, its upper end is moved completely out of contact with the buckskin [2a, while the butt is being held by the back check. The spring 3i returns the jack. 24, when the pressure on the key I has been released as known.

A spring 33, preferably coiled at 63c, has one end en aged with the rear part of the butt l2 at port 53, being controlled by the spring ten- .sion regulating screw 13, and its other end enaged with the port 4d of the sostenuto lever 5.5, lever having also a spring tension regulating screw 13a. The lever 45 is pivoted at B2 to the flange portion 39a of the damper lever 33 and extends upwardly to form the sostenuto lover engaging head 43, and one portion extends downwardly to engage the sostenuto lever rest felt 43 inlayed on the damper lever 39. This damper lever 39 is pivoted at 6'! to a flange 4| secured by screws lla to the rail 31, said damper extends downwardly and is provided with a felt inlay 40, adapted to be engaged by the spoon 33, above which a damper lifting rod 38 is disposed. The damper lever 39 supports a wire 59, which supports the damper block 53 and felt 58a, which dampens the string 60 as shown.

Supported on the frame 9 and pivoted at 55 is a sostenuto rail actuating lever 53, one end 56 of which is accommodated to a dowel 51 suitably operated by a foot pedal in the known manner and not shown. The other end of the lever 53 has a felt washer 5| disposed between it and the screw head 52, and below that end of the lever, and between it and block 48, is a spring 59. A pivot rod 54 engages one of the ports 99 of the frame and is connected with the block 48 on a rail 41 having a reinforcing part 48c and a bumper felt 49 against which the damper wire 59 strikes. The sostenuto rail 41 extends downwardly to cooperate with the sostenuto lever engaging head 46.

In the sectional View, Fig. 3, is shown the cutout 32a in the wippen 32 to provide movement space for the lower part of the jack 2 which is curved as shown at 24a, a smilar construction being used in Fig. 1. The modification shown in Fig. 3 is in the attachment of the spring and in the absence of the abstract 29, lever 3 and flange 4, and the provision of the felt 3a when actuated by a key in the well known mannuer. The end of the rear jack spring 3| which engages the wippen 32 directly in Fig. 1, now is secured in the flange 34 supporting the wippen 32.

In Fig. 4, the modification in respect to Fig. 1, consists in this: The damper bumper rail 46b with its felt layer 49 is fixed to the frame 9, by a screw 480. The demountable bridle tape It has its lower end secured to the pin head it located on the lower end of the abstract 29 bf, a fastening pin 19. The butt 82 has a wire 21a bent downwardly to form a back stop portion |4a to abut against the felt 23b of the back check head 29a, now part of the jack 23. The rear jack spring 3| has one end now secured to the lower end of the wippen supporting flange 34. The

spring 6611 has one end now secured at 64 to the damper lever 39, provided with a spring channel 65. At the lower end of the damper lever 39, the sostenuto lever 45 is pivoted at 52, and is adapted to be pressed against the felt 43, which is secured to the damper lever and extends downwardly to form the sostenuto engaging head 43. The sostenuto pedal operating rail 51 is supported on a sostenuto safety bumper spring 50, on the pedal operated dowel 51. The rail 4'! is supported by a sostenuto pivoting rod 54, pivoted at 54b to a flange 34. A spoon bumper felt 43 is applied to the damper lever 39 to cooperate with the damper lifting rod 38 and damper spoon 33.

In Fig. 6, the modification consists in having the jack 24 and the lower end of the abstract 29 pivoted to the wippen 32 at 6|, and the rear spring 3| extends from the rear end of the wippen 32, having its extreme end secured as at em to the lower end of the wippen 32 extending movably into the rear jack spring port 26 of the jack 24. A section taken on line 5-.5 of 6, is shown in Fig. 5, to show the connection of jack 24 and abstract 29. The lower side of the wip pen 32 has a felt 3a to coact with the keys I, when the abstract 29, lever 3 and flange 4 of Figs. 5 and 6 are omitted.

In the improved constructions, the spring 3? in Fig. 1 is caused to perform three or less important distinct pressure functions, one pressure to bear a very light pressure on the sostenuto lever 45, at spring port 44 to hold the sostenuto lever 45 yieldingly in its motion and-in its position. Another function is to indirectly bear its full strength upon the damper lever 39, which exerts the required pressure through felt 58a against the note strings 60 to stop the string vibration. Another function is the medium regulatable pressure exerted on the hammer l0 through the butt I2, the spring 66 contacting the butt spring port 63 and is regulatable by screw l3.

The spring action principle is adaptable to any model piano action. Whenever it is desired to sustain the tone of any given numbers of keys, the performer strikes the piano keys I, and immediately follows by depressing the sostenuto or center pedal, not shown, which activates the sostenuto rail 4?. This rail 41 engages and holds the sostenuto lever tip 45, and thus holds the damper felt 58a away from the note string 65?, as long as the pedal is held down by the performers foot; during this interval other notes may be played to the performers desire or content. The sosenuto lever tip 46 yieldingly contacts with the sostenuto rail 41 without the feel of that objectionable resistance or sluggish feeling in the keys as in the present sostenuto piano touch. This resistance is avoided because of the very light spring pressure upon the sostenuto lever 45 through the spring 68 in the port 44 and in the arrangement shown in Fig. 4. The sostenuto lever tip 45 yields against the sostenuto rail 4'5, thus the performer will have a smooth, even, satisfactory touch in the manual keys l.

lit will be noted that the vertically disposed damper lever adjacent the vertical strings forms one lateral boundary member of the improved action. The abstract forms the opposed lateral boundary member. The wippen forms the lower boundary member. Centrally disposed between the boundary members is the jack, butt, hammer and back check. The jack tripping regulation button is exterior of this grouping and laterally exterior to the abstract, that is, to the entire action. This compact small spaced assembly is made possible by pivoting the abstract direct to the jack or direct to the wippen; by providing the jack with a rear spring engaging portion into which a curved spring (in distinction to coiled springs) flts to operate the jack; and by the springs for the butt and damper lever.

As stated the abstract guide 3 supports the abstract 28, and the curbed surface 3a acts as a lost motion compensating lever. The distance from pivot 29a to pivot 35 is fixed, but by shifting the contact point between the surface 3a and the capstan screw 2, the leverage between that and the pivot Zea is changed to the distance of the hammer from the string, thus maintaining a constant touch depth between the key and the touch punching or bumper (not shown in the drawings) as these parts are known. Thus, the part 3, has the functions of an abstract guide, a lost motion compensator, and a constant touch depth governor, combine-d in one structure. With a constant input of energy upon the key, a variable output of tone is obtained by shifting the flanged hammer rail to its desired position, while lost motion, abstract guiding, and constant touch depth is obtained in every position of the hammer rail.

This is a division of my patent application Serial No. 776,987, filed September 30, 1947.

I wish it to be understod that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction 6 shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur toa person skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a piano action having a rail, a wippen with its rear end pivoted to the rail and having a free front end, and a jack pivoted to said wippen at said front end, the combination of a knuckle portion on said jack extending beyond said front end of said wippen, and a jack trip regulation screw disposed above said knuckle portion and spaced from said knuckle portion to be engaged by said knuckle portion for tripping the jack, said jack and said front end of said wippen being between said regulation screw and said rail.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which a back check is disposed between said jack regulation screw and said jack.

3. In a piano action having a rail, a wippen with a rear end pivoted to said rail, and a free front end, a jack pivoted to said wippen at said front end, a pivoted butt, and a jack regulation screw, the combination of a flange portion extending upwardly of said front end wippen, a

' back check Wire having a lower and an upper end, with said lower end on said flange portion, and said wire extending upwardly therefrom, a back check on said upper end of the wire, a wire having an upper and a lower end with its lower end on said butt, a bridle tape connecting the upper end of the back check wire with the upper end of the wire on said butt, said Wire on said flange portion being between said jack regulation screw and said jack.

4. In a piano action having a rail, a wippen with a rear end pivoted to said rail, and a free front end, a jack pivoted to said wippen at said front end, a pivoted butt, and a jack regulation screw, the combination of a flange portion extending upwardly of said front end wippen, a back check wire having a lower and an upper end, with said lower end on said flange portion, and said wire extending upwardly therefrom, a back check on said upper end of the wire, a wire having an upper and a lower end with its lower end on said butt, a bridle tape connecting the upper end of the back check wire with the upper end of the wire on said butt, said wire on said flange portion being between said jack regulation screw and said jack, and an abstract supported on said flange portion above said pivotal connection of said jack with said wippen and between said jack regulation screw and said jack. 5. In a piano action, having a rail, a wippen pivoted at one end to said rail and having a, free front end, the combination of a jack pivoted to said free front end of said wippen, and a spring extending from said pivoted end of said wippen to the rear of the jack and contacting therewith at a part between said pivotal connection of said jack with said wippen and said pivotal connection of said wippen with said rail.

ALEXANDER. P. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,156,962 Betz May 2, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 573,922 France July 2, 1924 

